Not everyone knows the story behind our cuddly friend the Teddy Bear. In 1902 the 26th President of the USA Theodore Roosevelt was taken on a hunting trip in Mississippi. As part of the hunt his aids cornered a bear cub so the President could shoot it. On seeing this cuddly animal in a state of stress the President ordered its immediate release.
When the Washington Post heard about the incident they asked their chief cartoonist Clifford Berryman to create a cartoon of the situation. Berryman created the image of the President and a cute cuddly bear sitting under a tree. The strapline was Teddy’s Bear.
A toy maker by the name of Morris Mitchom seeing the cartoon quickly made a Teddy Bear out of a soft fabric and filled it with white cotton. He sent it to the President and asked if he could use the name Teddy Bear, the President agreed and Mitchom started to produce them. Teddy Roosevelt on the otherhand saw the passion of the public and used a Teddy Bear as his mascot for his successful re-election campaign.
Within a few years the Teddy Bear had become a global success with Europe also producing cuddly bears. Nowadays it is highly unlikely that puberty can be reached without owning at least one Teddy Bear. Many adults are proud to acknowledge that they still own the original bear they were give. Teddy’s have developed since that day in Mississippi you can now get them in all shapes and sizes and perfect for that special occasion such as Birthday’s, Weddings, Valentines, New Borns and Anniversaries.
The Teddy Bear market is a Billion pound global industry so it’s no surprise that companies such as Gund, Carte Blanche, Steif and Jelly Cat are all trying to innovate the next big Teddy star. Over the years there have been a number of success stories, the Carte Blanche Tatty Teddy being the most popular over the last 3 decades. How can it be that a little grey tatty teddy could grab the attention of generations of children and adults alike. Their next generation of tatty teds is the Blue Nose range whilst the Expressions company have taken a departure from the tradition and created a lovable dog called Boofle made out of a knitted material.
Where fads come and go in the toy industry the Teddy Bear still remains the favourite gift of children, but now with the arrival of personalisation teddy’s are being given to all ages as a celebration gift. As we say ‘longer lasting than flowers, less fattening than chocolates, a bear last for a lifetime.